Naval Officer Admits Raping Own Daughter, Navy Promotes Him Anyway

Opposing Views ^ | 12/10/2013 | By Jonathan Vankin

[Responsibility2nd]

As the Pentagon begins a year-long inquiry into why child abuse is rapidly increasing throughout the U.S Armed Services, a Navy officer who sexually abused his own two children was not only given a pass by Navy brass, he got a promotion.

The case was exposed in a recent story in the Virginian-Pilot, a newspaper based in Norfolk, Va., and the details are chilling. Four years ago, according to evidence and testimony amassed by Child Protective Services in Virginia, the Navy lieutenant — who was not named by the newspaper in order to protect the privacy of his traumatized kids — raped his 13-year-old daughter, pinning her to a bed and forcing himself on her after two years of touching her in inappropriate ways.

In the years since the 2009 rape, the girl has suffered severe depression and anxiety, along with suicidal thoughts and a stomach ulcer.

The lieutenant also abused his 10-year-old son, according to the social workers on the case, repeatedly touching the boy’s genitals through his clothes and on one occasion, tying the boy up, duct-taping his mouth shut then forcing him to watch as the lieutenant had sex with a girlfriend.

The lieutenant had separated from his wife, the children’s mother, at the time. When a judge decided that the wife’s allegations of child abuse could hurt the officer’s Navy career, he cited her for contempt of court and ordered her to pay a $5,000 fine, which she can’t afford, or spend 10 days in jail.

Nonetheless, social workers placed the officer's name on the state’s Child Abuse and Neglect Registry and obtained a court order forbidding him from coming within two miles of his children — he has four — until they each turn 18.

The lieutenant signed a document admitting to Child Protection authorities that he committed “Level 2” abuse against his daughter. The social workers accused him of Level 1 abuse, which means that the child suffered “serious harm” as a result. Level 2 means the child endured “moderate” harm.

Despite the evidence, including his own admission, the Navy cleared the officer and let him keep his $96,000 per year job, with a promotion.

In fact, the newspaper examined 1,400 child abuse allegations against U.S. Navy service members and found that the Navy threw out half of them as “unsubstantiated.”

After the Virginian-Pilot story ran, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service opened a new investigation into the abuse allegations against the lieutenant.

In 2011 and 2012, the four branches of the armed forces had 12,881 cases of child abuse and neglect reported, 67 of them leading to the death of a child. More than 750 were sexual assault cases.

In the Navy alone, 42 children died from abuse and neglect from 2008 to 2012. From 2009 to 2012, the Navy had 3,336 child abuse and neglect cases.

In November, the Defense Department announced that it was forming a special working group to investigate the military child abuse epidemic. The group is expected to release its first report in February, part of a projected year-long study.

SOURCES: Virginian-Pilot, Navy Times

 

[lepton]

We have had waves of social services assaults on members of the military. A lot of mandatory parts of their jobs trip their little checklists, and there have been a lot of examples of social services essentially kidnapping the children of military personnel because of things like low income and moving a lot.

Hard to tell which side of the line this falls on. As for the issue of promoting the man, he should either be promoted according to his job performance, or go to jail for the crimes. That the author of the article mixes the idea of job performance with criminality makes the claims even more dubious.

[null and void]

If he had raped the boy they would have promoted him to Rear Admiral.

There.

Fixed...

[Responsibility2nd]

I’m coming around to your POV. Not that I don’t think he did it. I think he did rape his own daughter. But PROVING it is next to impossible.

The best authorities could do is get him to plead to the Level 2 charge and not the Level 1. And if he did that, they would not prosecute. Just speculation on my part as records will be forever sealed and we may never know what happened.

But I just think this is more than a nasty, bitter, divorced ex-wife “she said” bogus charge.

[Jacquerie]

Her husband, who has been in the Navy nearly 24 years, now is stationed in California.

Mustang, yes?

[lepton]

He admitted...what? The cited “admission” is pretty non-specific, but whatever it was isn’t what was described.

If he held down his daughter and raped her, he should be made dead...but that doesn’t seem to fit a description of “moderate harm” which he is described as admitting to even remotely.

There are a lot of specific things wrong with this article. I’m not going to say that the man did nothing wrong, but the article itself seems more a deranged polemic than reporting.

[Drew68]

However, I cannot understand why anyone would admit to something so heinous if the accusations were completely without merit.

Who knows? Maybe he did it or maybe, as I said earlier, they made him on offer he couldn't refuse? It's hard to think of something they could've held over his head to make him plead guilty. Then again, I pray I never have to experience dealing with CPS.

A little research brings up countless accounts from people claiming their lives were destroyed by the God-like powers bestowed upon various child protective services.

[drypowder]

or admitting that you molested a child, let alone one’s own child, should qualify for immediate halt in one’s biological functions. As for rapists, the same should apply.

[DPMD]

If true, yes, it’s horrible beyond comprehension.

But color me skeptical for one reason only: This story, along with all the accompanying statistics showing how child abuse is supposedly epidemic in the military, comes only weeks after the story of how massive is the scale of sexual abuse of women in the military.

The timing is a little questionable, as is the account of the judge’s imposition of punishment on the wife for merely revealing his abuse.

[trisham]

Who knows? Maybe he did it or maybe, as I said earlier, they made him on offer he couldn't refuse? It's hard to think of something they could've held over his head to make him plead guilty. Then again, I pray I never have to experience dealing with CPS.

A little research brings up countless accounts from people claiming their lives were destroyed by the God-like powers bestowed upon various child protective services.

***************************

I have to agree with you. I may be cynical, but it seems to me that there may be some government employees who justify their salaries by high profile cases that result in a conviction.

[MHGinTN]

Democrips love their sexual degenerates, so this is not at all hard to believe. The democrips want such scum in positions of power because already being degenerate minds they will do as they are told regardless of right and wrong.

[bkopto]

Maybe this is one of those officers who passed the Obama promotion/retention test of whether or not they are willing to fire on American citizens.

[Drew68]

But I just think this is more than a nasty, bitter, divorced ex-wife “she said” bogus charge.

Never underestimate the nastiness at which divorce proceedings can take.

Like I said, I don't know if he's guilty or not. I do however believe that Child Protective Services operate as rogue agencies with little accountability and they tend to be staffed by a bunch of "it takes a village to raise a child"-type liberals. I've read enough horror stories of people dealing CPS to refrain from giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Why is he not serving at sea? I believe that there is a yardarm missing its hanging lieutenant!

[Drew68]

Maybe this is one of those officers who passed the Obama promotion/retention test of whether or not they are willing to fire on American citizens.

I've been serving in the Navy over a decade and I've never seen such a test nor known any other sailor, -officer or senior enlisted, who has been given such a test.

Bogus claim.

[A Navy Vet]

From the article: "The judge in the divorce case, persuaded that the allegations were impeding the officer's Navy career, has declared his wife in contempt of court and sentenced her to 10 days in jail - time that she will have to serve unless she pays a $5,000 fine."

Knew there was more to this. The Navy really frowns on child or mate abuse. Although the article goes more into their allegedly dismal financial situation, this has more to it. The Navy does not promote alleged child abusers without a full investigation (think NCIS). I believe it is the wife. It wouldn't be the first time a military wife wrongfully accused their spouse of abuse.

When I worked Shore Patrol (MP's to you army types) in Rota, Spain, every domestic disturbance turned out to be the wife causing the problem being pissed that she was restricted in some way to military standards and/or our host country culture/protocols, or just pissed that she was out of the USA.

I even had a friend from my first ship who got orders to Rota shortly after me and his wife divorced him for taking her there. What a b**ch she was. We made the mistake of once double-dating. Sheesh, I remember what a B she was to this day. My wife who says nothing bad about anyone, said don't ever bring her to our home on base. That's as bad as b**ch can get. Of course, I lost my shipmate friendship since he couldn't go anywhere without his wife going ballistic. End rant.

[AbnSarge]

Not in the Army either

[Captainpaintball]

Why didn’t he go to prison?

Because he answered 'yes' to the "Would you fire on civilians?" question.

[Future Snake Eater]

Wow, I find that surprising. I spent a day or two at Rota when I was coming back home from Afghanistan for R&R (we were grounded due that Iceland volcanic eruption back in 2009-2010). It seemed like a really nice base with a beautiful climate. It’s had me wondering ever since if there are any Army IT jobs over there so I could get stationed at Rota.

[WayneS]

I understand what you are saying, but when I see someone directly comparing statistics collected over different time frames/periods, and when they do NOT make any effort to normalize the data, I immediately become suspicious of that person's motives.

"In 2011 and 2012, the four branches of the armed forces had 12,881 cases of child abuse and neglect reported, 67 of them leading to the death of a child. More than 750 were sexual assault cases" (two year's data).

"In the Navy alone, 42 children died from abuse and neglect from 2008 to 2012". (five year's data)

"From 2009 to 2012, the Navy had 3,336 child abuse and neglect cases. (four year's data)".

It is obvious to me that the writer is implying that the Navy has a worse record of child/abuse cases than the other three branches of the military (e.g. "In the Navy alone...").

However, by normalizing all of the reported data over a two year period, one can see that the Navy does not experience more than its statistical "share" (25%) of child abuse/neglect-related deaths; and that it experiences far less than its "share" of total child abuse/neglect cases.

42 child abuse deaths over 5 years "normalizes" to 16.8 deaths over a two year period. 16.8 is almost exactly 25% of 67 (67 being the reported total number of child abuse-related deaths among all four branches of the military during the two-year period 2011 and 2012).

3,336 total child abuse and neglect cases over four years means that the Navy could expect 1,668 such cases over a two year period. 1,668 is about 13% of 12,881. Thus, upon further examination, it appears the Navy has fewer such instances, on average, than the other three branches of the military.

This, of course, has NOTHING to do with the actual guilt or innocence of the individual who was the subject of the story - but in my opinion this fact makes the "yellow journalism" label even more justified. The writer does nothing but muddy the water with his/her "statistics"

PS - For the record, if he is guilty then I think he deserves to die.

[Avid Coug]

” And if you say no....then you’re in the “Denier-Dissimulator child sexual abuser category.””

I can see the Bamster’s administration making expanded use of that terminology. If you reject the orthodoxy of the global warming cult, you are not just a “denier”—you are a “denier-dissimulator climate killer”

If you reject Bamsters’ political views, you are a denier-dissimulator sociopath. Re-education camps are too good for you.